“It’s a big blow” – Pep Guardiola confirms Man City suffer major injury blow ahead of PL opener against Chelsea
Jack Grealish is questionable for Manchester City’s Premier League opener against Chelsea due to an injury, according to Pep Guardiola.
Prior to Saturday’s Community Shield matchup against Manchester United, Grealish sustained a knock during training and was rested as a precaution.
However, that might go till Sunday when City travels to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea, led by Enzo Maresca, out of concern that they might exacerbate a small issue.
“Discomfort for two days but especially on Friday, his feeling wasn’t good,’ Guardiola said (via Daily Mail). ‘I don’t think it’s a big issue but we didn’t want to take a risk. It’s a blow, he had rhythm and was aggressive.
“Maybe against Chelsea he will be ready or I’m pretty sure against Ipswich Town. If he’d got injured now it could be three weeks or a month out.”
Belgian star Jeremy Doku and new £33million signing Savinho will vie for the left wing berth in Grealish’s place. Savinho impressed off the bench at Wembley on debut.
Guardiola added: “Savinho will understand us perfectly. I know many, many actions for Girona last season, going to the byline, cross to the near post or the far post, and the strikers scored a lot of goals. He’s so fast in transition.”